Shavuos / Shavu’ot

Of the primary festivals within the Jewish year, Shavuos possesses what seems at first to be the most uninspiring and perplexing name. Pesach declares that G-d passed over Jewish homes as He slaughtered all Egyptian first-borns, heralding in the great Exodus. Succos reminds us of the miraculous preservation of the Jewish people – three million strong – for forty years in a barren desert.

Shavuot celebrates the harvest and commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Jewish People on Mount Sinai. On Shavuot, Jews light candles, decorate with greenery, eat dairy food, study Torah, attend prayer services, and read the Book of Ruth.

The period from Passover to Shavu’ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu’ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival.  The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu’ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu’ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu’ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day; however, Shavu’ot has no particular similarity to the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after their Spring holiday.

It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.

Shavu’ot is not tied to a particular calendar date, but to a counting from Passover. Because the length of the months used to be variable, determined by observation, and there are two new moons between Passover and Shavu’ot, Shavu’ot could occur on the 5th or 6th of Sivan. However, now that we have a mathematically determined calendar, and the months between Passover and Shavu’ot do not change length on the mathematical calendar, Shavu’ot is always on the 6th of Sivan (the 6th and 7th outside of Israel. See Extra Day of Holidays.)

Work is not permitted during Shavu’ot.

It is customary to stay up the entire first night of Shavu’ot and study Torah, then pray as early as possible in the morning.

It is customary to eat a dairy meal at least once during Shavu’ot. There are varying opinions as to why this is done. Some say it is a reminder of the promise regarding the land of Israel, a land flowing with “milk and honey.” According to another view, it is because our ancestors had just received the Torah (and the dietary laws therein), and did not have both meat and dairy dishes available. See Separation of Meat and Dairy.

The book of Ruth is read at this time. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive.

Rav Hirsch (commentary to Leviticus 23:15-16) offers an explanation of the sfira. He suggests that Pesach, as the festival of freedom, represents not only freedom, but the first step towards “self-supporting national prosperity”. However, this is merely the first step in the spiritual weltanschauung of a Torah nation.

The true goal is to achieve Shavuos, to receive the Torah from the one G- d. The way to accomplish this is to experience the “purification and (spiritual) adjustment” of Shabbos even times over, with each experience serving to detoxify us further from the impurities and moral challenges which routinely confront us. Once we have experienced such a process, we have reached the level of fifty, and can be considered ready to re-receive our holy Torah.

This is the message of sefirah. Any successful harvest is cause for celebration, the culmination of much effort and toil. But how are we to view our newfound material bounty? Is it to be seen as an end unto itself, or the means by which we can achieve our lofty goals in life? G-d instructs us at this exact moment of material success to begin counting seven weeks towards Shavuos. Keep your eyes focused on the true, spiritual goals. Work hard to achieve slow, steady growth, bringing us closer, day by day, to our lofty mission of accepting the Torah. It is a process that allows us to transcend the physical world that surrounds us and partake in our special audience with G-d, our Atzeres.